Raeith of the Woods
by Lord Brashugon
Summary: Gather around for I have a story to tell. I am Vorinde the steadfast, from a land beyond the waters known to the old kings as Amman. I will tell you the story of Raeith of the Woods… [First story - kind reviews accepted]
1. Sneak Peek

The corridors stretched on forever and it felt like they would never find their way back to where the paths split but Boradon was moving through the passages as though he had run them all his life. Finally they heard the sounds of many feet and quiet voices and grunts up ahead. After turning a final blind corner the tunnel suddenly opened into a cavernous space filled with the dust of a recent battle and the occasional sound of the wounded, mixed with the shuffle of feet that added to the feeling of dread that permeated the new arrivals. The bodies of both orc and warrior were scattered across the floor. Many had fallen, and many of those had the mark of the West Guard. Raeith took a moment to get her bearings; she was familiar with this area having fought here before. There were only two ways in, the one she entered and the one across the space and off centered toward the left. There would be an outcropping of rock to her right that had a gentle slope that would allow her to reach the top, offering a view of the whole space. It was this path she headed for. Brenidth would be here, she felt him, but he was not alone.


	2. Chapter 1

Authors note: I hope you enjoy this story as it unfolds, and will help me in it's creation. I will from time to time ask for suggestions on names of places/people/ect, or ask you to help Raeith with a difficult decision.

First question, Please help me decide the names of two towns. These towns are located in the Elven land Ammon. One is a port town, the other the capital. Be creative but please make is sound elvish...

Disclaimer: While I am trying to keep everything as AU as I can, it is still the same Middle Earth created by JRR Tolkin in the same time, and the same war. I hope that is where the similarities end. The characters in this story belong to me, and we are just visiting the world created by the master storyteller Tolkin. Happy reading...

Gather around for I have a story to tell. I am _Vorinde the steadfast, from a land beyond the waters known to the old kings as _Amman. I will tell you the story of Raeith of the Woods…

PART 1:

Chapter One…

Our tale will begin on the eve on winter, the snow has not yet fallen but the few brown leaves that hold precariously to their branches offer little for cover.

The foot falls of the girl are almost silent as she moves through the woods, she is listening for prey… she has been almost two days without food and it is hunger that drives her out into the cold. The berries that sustain her diet have long been used up, and the pond by the mountains edge that yielded her fish in the warm times has become the property of predators much larger than she.

The rustle in the leaves brings the girl to a stop; slowly she lowers herself to the frozen ground below. The sound is not from a rabbit as she hoped, it is much larger, she peeks out from the foliage and sees not a wolf, but a man.

What would bring a man this far into the woods? She had seen him before; he was from the village of men far to the east. She would often travel that way when the land was warm but was careful to never approach. Men were dangerous! She had lived among them once but has lived in the woods for longer. The predators of the woods were honest, they would attack you if they were hungry or you entered their lands, men were different, they could hate.

She carefully studied the dark haired man; his form was thin as he was still in his youth. Perhaps older then she, but not filled out with time and labor. His movements were not right; his path seemed to have no direction and his walk was faltering. He was injured, but even an injured man was dangerous and the girl stayed close to the ground and watched. Time stretched as she watched him weave and stumble until he finally fell and did not get up, but still she watched him.

As day slipped closer to night the girl cautiously rose to her feet, would the other men come, should she leave? Would the wolves come first, should she stay? It was a quiet moan led her to stand over him. She had not been so close to a man since she was very young and her desire to flee was matched only with her curiosity. She lowered herself down beside him but in a position where she could run if needed, but he did not move. Slowly she reached out a hand and touched the dark hair that fell over his brow, his head was hot, but he remained unmoving. His closed eyes a testament to the extent of his injuries, without help, he would die.

Her hands moved to his shirt, it was covered in blood that moved toward his leg while he walked but now snaked a path down his side. Whatever creature had given him this wound could easily follow the trail of blood; she would need to start a fire to keep such predictors away, but first, his wound. She looked again at her hands, they looked normal to her, but she knew better, they were bad. She didn't know why they were bad, but she knew they were. She knew when she put her hands on his wound what would happen, she knew about the green aura that would surround them and she knew he would live, but she also knew this caused man to hate her. It is why her family sent her to the robed people. It is why the robed people hit her. It is why they call her Wraith and cross themselves when they see her. She checked the man's eyes again, they are still closed. Then she looks around her and knows they are alone. Slowly but firmly she puts her hands on the man's wounds and as the green aura envelopes them both, she feels for his energy that swirls slowly around his core, the vibration of that energy that is uniquely his own. It is still strong and as she gathers her own energy and sends it into him she feels him as he heals.

Chapter Two…

The fire crackled merrily spreading light and warmth in a small circle that held both the night and predators at bay. Wraith slowly added sticks to the fire, she had gathered some but time had been short and she returned with enough to keep the small flame flickering through the night. Morning came as it always did in that part of the woods, with mist covering the ground while little creatures moved through the brush looking for something to eat.

The sound of her stomach growling joined the buzz of morning movement as Wraith checked her quietly sleeping patient and went out quickly to find food. Hunger had been her companion for too long, and she no longer hoped to find a rabbit or squirrel but instead dug in the near frozen soil for a few of the nuts and seeds that were left behind by those creatures in warmer times. The tree below which she searched was often covered in those same small nuts in the late summer and it took little time to find several handfuls that could be added to hot water and eaten, but some she cracked and ate on her return to her makeshift camp.

The sight of warm brown eyes greeted her as she entered the small circle of light cast by the fire in the early dawn. Below those eyes a mouth smiled at her as she stopped so quickly she dropped most of the nuts she had spent the morning collecting.

"Good morning", the mouth said. He looked at her from over the small fire. Her large frightened eyes stared back from a thin face while whisps of light brown hair shadowed part of her hazel eye. She was medium height and small like a wood pixie he heard stories of, and her mouth was open in a little o of suprise.

Wraith stared…

Again he smiled, "I didn't mean to startle you".

Wraith listened to the words, she knew what they meant, some of them at least and the man smiled with this teeth showing, but he did not look like he was about to bite. He looked…. Kind.

With her eyes firmly planted on her patient in the chance that he might move, she slowly picked up the breakfast she had gathered and moved toward the fire. Her bowl that was carefully carved from the root of a tree was back in her shelter. She would not be able to warm and soften the nuts.

"What have you there?" the man asked while eyeing the nuts she had gathered. She quickly dropped a handful into his outstretched hand. Several hit the ground around him but from his continued smile, he did not appear to mind. "Breakfast?" he asked.

Moving well beyond his reach from his prone position, she sat cross-legged on the ground and began to pop nuts into her mouth, crushing them and spitting out the shells. Still she eyed him wearily while he carefully put a dirty shell between his teeth and bit down. Removing the snack from his mouth, he carefully opened the shell and removed the nut inside. It was bitter; the face he made when he bit down on the nut startled Wraith then made her laugh. It was a sound that surprised both of them, but the man joined in and laughed as well. It has been many years since Wraith heard the sound of laughter; even then it was from children and usually at her. This was different; it was warm and made her want to move closer.

He points to his chest, "I am Glem, Glem" he repeats.

"Glen?" Wraith timidly asks.

"No, Glemmmm" he tries again, stretching out the last sound.

"Glemm" she repeats.

Her reward was a smile, bigger and brighter than the rest. She liked that smile.

"Wraith" she points to herself and states.

"Wraith" he repeats, but his brow furrowed and he looked troubled. "Like the stories of the ancient evil wraiths?" He questioned.

"Yes, spawn of the devil" she chirped. She remembered the robe people telling her that, she was pleased she remembered, but the man did not look nearly so pleased.

The conversation grew quiet as he watched her; she popped a few more nuts into her mouth and crunched. He seemed less pleased with the conversation then there makeshift breakfast.

After a bit either due to restlessness or the hardness of the frozen ground he lay on, the man gingerly began to sit up. He was surprised by the lack of pain and although weak, he felt he could probably walk around. This seemed strange since he seemed to remember the wound inflicted by an irate bear as being much more severe then it currently looked. In fact, it looked almost healed! How long had he been laying there with this waif of a girl tending his wounds? Where were the others, certainly she was not alone. She was much too young to be alone in these woods. He was nearly 17 years and she seemed a year or two younger than him. He looked around for signs of others but found none.

"Where are your people" he asked.

"People?"

"Your kin, and friends?"

"Kin… Friends?"

This was getting him nowhere.

"Where is your Home?"

"Home?" she repeated.

"Yes! Where is your home?" he snapped.

In less than the beat of a birds wing Wraith had jumped up and was glaring at him from the edge of the clearing. The yell had been unexpected; he looked like someone who might be kind. She wanted him to be kind, she was alone and had been for a long time and it was nice to not be alone, but he yelled and kind people did not yell.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to…" he was not sure what he had done to get such a response. Sure he raised his voice a little, but not enough to cause her to jump and run. Perhaps she was alone, that would explain why she seemed frightened of him. He tried again, casting a smile at her, he invited her to sit and was surprised and pleased when she came around the fire and sat closer to him then she had been since she practically threw the nuts at him at breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, he was getting hungry but not hungry enough for more of the bitter fare still scattered around him on the ground.

The day progressed with him talking and Wraith listening, she seemed interested in what he had to say but shy about saying much herself. He stretched his aching muscles and walked around the camp while she gathered more wood for the fire and collected more nuts and a few leaves. He was not looking forward to dinner. He had been away from home for two or three days before the attack but had no idea how long he had been in the care of this girl. It must have been a while, several days at least based on the condition of his wound. His people should come looking for him soon.

The next few days brought a feeling of companionship to Wraith that she had never known. The boy, Glem, talked a lot, but she found she liked to listen. She liked to watch him too. When he walked, he looked powerful, but in a good way. He was also good at finding food. He had a stick and another stick and he used them to throw at a bird and they had meat with their nuts that night. Well, she did. He just had meat.

It was late on the third day that the sounds of voices echoed through the air. Wraith jumped to her feet and was about to run when Glem, with a huge smile on his face told her to stay.

"It is my kin," he tried to explain. "They have come looking for me. Come" he told her as he held out his hand to her, "meet them."

She hesitantly placed her hand in his and followed him into the woods and towards the voices. He called out to the voices beyond, and the voices called back. Wraith stopped. "Come, it is ok, it is my kin." He sent her a smile that encouraged her to continue.

In the clearing were three men, two were older then Glem, one was much older. He seemed tired. She stopped at the edge of the clearing and Glem gave her hand a little tug. He was very happy to see his kinsmen but was concerned Wraith was ready to run. The old man looked at Wraith and a smile cracked his wrinkled face and his brown eyes turned soft and welcoming.

"Who have we there?" asked the elder.

"This is Wraith, I was wounded and when I woke up, she was there." Glem offered for explanation.

One of the other men looked at the dried blood crusting his shirt "From the looks of you, you should be dead."

"Thought I was for a while, but I am fine now." He lifted his shirt with his free hand for his kinsmen to see the nearly healed wound that stretched from halfway across his ribs and toward his hip. It was a serious wound that could have killed him or left him bedridden for many days, perhaps even weeks. It had been just over a week since Glem left the village in search of bear hides and the fat that would help feed them through the winter.

"Our little friend here must be a powerful healer," stated the elder as he looked back at Wraith with new interest.

"Whatever she is feeding you must be working" joked the dark haired man near the elder.

Glem thought of the nuts she kept handing him to eat and decided to bring some home with him, just in case.

"Come back to our fire, we have meat to eat tonight, unless you brought something better?" Glem asked hopefully.

The taller of the men laughed at Glem, "You always do think with your stomach first." he grinned.

"Fortunately for you, your mother packed enough food for a month. She is very worried" the tall man said and gave Glem a disapproving look.

The fire was nearly out at the camp and Wraith hurried forward to put more sticks on the small flames. The men had talked cheerfully the whole way back to the campsite and it did not look like the buzz of voices would end anytime soon. Several times they had tried to get her to join in conversation, but Glem had explained that she was shy, and yes, she appeared to be alone, and no, he did not know why a young girl was in the woods alone, and no, he did not know why she was named after the devil's own. But she was friendly even though was not good at cooking food and he had enough nuts to last him a lifetime, and did they have any biscuits…

The old man even though he seemed very happy to have found Glem, and even happier to be resting by the fire, watched Wraith carefully. She was more than shy; she was if not afraid, undeniably nervous.

Dinner was served by the tall man, Cobryn, is what Glem had called him. Wraith had watched the man carefully. He pulled out a black bowl that looked quite different then her wood bowl then placed it directly over the fire. She was shocked, it did not catch fire! How could the bowl not burn? The old man watched her reaction and smiled.

"It is iron" he said as he answered here unasked question. "It is a pot that does not burn in fire so we can cook in it."

Glem and the other two men looked questioningly at the elder, how could she not know what a pot was. Everyone knew what a pot was.

"It will get very hot, so you cannot touch it" he continued.

Wraith watched the man put food from his bag into the iron pot and watched him cook with fascination. He had an iron stick to move the food around and the smells from the pot made her stomach growl. He smiled at her then reached in his bag and pulled out a biscuit and handed it to her. She took it warily then Glem called out, toss one of those over here. She watched Glem take a big bite out of his biscuit before she took a small bite out of hers. It was good! It was better than good. How could it be so soft in her mouth, and the way it tasted warm even though it was not, and oh, it was just so good.

The elder watched the emotions play across the young girls face as she took the biscuit from Cobryn. She watched suspiciously as Glem took a bite then tried it herself. He watched as her eyes opened in surprise then closed as she savored the flavors of the biscuit. Vaoni was a good cook, but he doubted anyone appreciated her cooking more than this girl did at this moment.

Conversation lasted well into the night as the men bedded down on the ground around the fire. Wraith chose a spot closer to the tree line and as the elder watched, he doubted she would be sleeping much tonight.

Long after the conversation of a family reunited died down to the quiet steady sounds of breathing and the night birds started calling, the elder watched the open eyes of the girl where she lay.

"Come over here and join me by the fire" he invited quietly. "It appears neither one of us will be getting much sleep tonight. Old men like me need rest, but little sleep, and I believe your mind has too many questions to let you rest."

Wraith moved closer to the fire. The iron pot still sat above it and the smells still made her mouth wet.

"Are you still hungry?" the old man asked, "I can fix you more food."

"No, not hungry"

"My name is **Addroddyn**, but you can call me Poppie."

There were a hundred questions he wanted to ask her but knew she would not or could not answer them, so he asked if she knew the anything about the bird that sang off in the distance, the creature that made the rustling in the dry leaves and anything else he could think of to get her talking to him.

Sometime in the night she fell asleep.

If dinner had been good, breakfast was even better. This time before Cobryn handed her a biscuit, he broke it open and added something sticky and sweet.

"Honey" the elder indicated the biscuit. "That is what he added"

"Honey" she repeated, then opened the biscuit and licked the honey out of the middle and grinned at the old man. "Good! Wraith like."

"How did you get a name like Wraith?" asked Cobryn.

Wraith seemed to think hard then said "Robe men".

"They say Spawn of the Devil" she added and watched as the faces on the two men changed to discomfort just like Glem's when she told him, but the old man's face looked different. He looked fascinated.

As before, when she told Glem, the conversation died down. The men did not look at her but looked instead to the elder. The elder looked at her and smiled.

"Names are important, each is made up of symbols that tell others who we are. The name Wraith is for an evil being. You found our Glem wounded and you healed him; that is not the sign of an evil creature. I believe I shall give you a gift for saving our Glem. I believe I will give you symbols for your name. From here on out, you will be known as 'Raeith of the Woods'. Those symbols mean Daughter of the Sun and bringer of Light.

"Raeith?" she questioned. And the Elder took the iron stick from the pot and began to write symbols in the dirt. First he wrote 'Wraith' then crossed it out, above it he wrote 'Raeith'. "There, it is done! You are now Raeith of the Wood!"

She looked hopefully at the elder, "Raeith have name, good name, Raeith is good?

"Raeith is very good." he replied and watched as the hopeful look turned to happiness.

"Where is your kin Raeith, your family?" the elder asked quietly.

"Family gone, took Raeith to Robe people."

"Then we will be your family. You can come back with us and live in our village, Occulas Populas."

"Occuliz Popu…."

"Occulas Populas, The hidden people," he corrected. "We live off towards the east" he pointed off in the direction of their village. "Come with us Raeith of the Woods."

"There are biscuits," Glem added helpfully, "and honey."

The rest of the day the elder told her tales of the people she would meet, the people who would now be her family. He told her of cooking and sewing, of swimming, fishing, and about all his favorite foods. He told her about how they would gather in the evening around the fire and tell stories. As Raeith listened and imagined such a life her heart began to feel full and happy. It was all her companions could do to get her to wait to leave until after breakfast in the morning.

Authors note: Thank you all who read it this far, like I said at the beginning I will be asking you for help with names and places, plus various moral dilemmas she may face every now and then so if you have any ideas at all please let me know, any and all reviews are not only welcome but necessary In order for me to know what and how to improve the story thank you.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Three...

The village was... loud. It was the first thing the occurred to Raeith. There were children who came running up to them with some dogs running around them. Raeith was uncertain about the dogs, they looked suspiciously like wolves but one big gray one bounced around Glem, his tongue was hanging out and a he would only stop long enough to nuzzle Glems hand and bark happily at the party as a whole. It was hard not to laugh and impossible not to smile. Villagers left their work and came out of huts to greet the arrivals. There were hugs and laughter but one woman ran up to Glem crying and laughing scolding him the whole time. Raeith looked at Poppie, it was overwhelming! His quiet smile reassured her and she observed the homecoming with fascination if not a little trepidation. Slowly the noise lowered to a steady hum, there were still much smiling and backslapping as the group made their way further into the village. Several of the people looked at Raetih with cautious curiosity then questioningly at Poppie, but no one spoke to her. When finally they made their way to fire in the central part of the village with logs lying on their sides to serve as seats, the congregation began to settle. Chores were forgotten and everyone gathered to hear the story of Glem and what kept him from returning home.

The story continued well into the night, and like a good storyteller, Glem expanded on the highlights and perhaps altered events a little in the telling. He told of the bear he was tracking, how he finally had her trapped, then how things went wrong. He lifted his shirt to show the still pink scars that crossed his torso to the sounds of dismay from his family and friends then continued to tell how he held her off long enough to escape. He did not actually remember much of what happened next, but that did not deter him from adding details that might have happened. When he finally got to the point of the story where Raeith walked into the circle of light carrying two handfuls of nuts, everyone looked expectantly at her. Certainly she was not supposed to tell the story! She stared wide eyed at the group then Poppie, but he understood and continued the story as he had heard it and the woman who had scolded Glem watched her quietly.

As the story wound its way towards its end, night had fully fallen and the happy villagers banked the fire for the night, and headed off to their own huts and beds.

"Come along Raeith," Poppie invited, "You will sleep in here." He led her to a little hut that had a tree just behind it and some plants growing along one side and the front. The room he led her into was small with an opening to an even smaller room beyond. There was a cot with a patched cover and a table beside it that looked like it would wobble. "You can sleep here," he told her while patting the cot. I will be in that room if you need anything he added.

The villagers welcomed her into their family, and even though Raeith was happy to be accepted, she still found the whole situation overwhelming. Mornings were good and peaceful as she often had breakfast with Poppie. It was not biscuits with honey but some kind of grain that spent lots of time in the iron pot over Popies fire. It was thick and, well, it was just thick, but Poppie was there and she was happy.

Snow would come soon and everyone in the village seemed to have something to do, the women cooked and would sew, they rolled the skins of animals until they became soft. The men were often hunting and fishing, and the children made noise and chased each other. Raeith soon found herself looking for something to do as well. When she lived on her own, she would spend the day hunting for food or berries, fishing, collecting water, and making new bowls because they did not last long near the fire, but here, there was nothing to do... The food grew right outside their houses and the river was only minutes away. All the bowls were made of iron in the big fire by Glem's father. The children would often ask Raeith to join them in a game, but they would soon get called in for chores or dinner. Raeith had joined Glem for the day and he took her to watch his father make iron sticks and pots. He also made a flat bowl and gave it to Raeith to eat her meals off of. Some of the women in the village also brought her clothes. She had a shirt that fell to her knees and a rope she tied around her waist. For shoes, they gave her animal skins that had the fur scraped off, but it had strings and the strings never seemed to stay together and the shoes kept threatening to fall off. Kara, one of the women who lived in the hut by the lake said she was dirty and smelled bad and marched her straight off to the river for a good scrubbing... The scrubbing was uncomfortable, but not painful, by the time Kara was trying to pull all the knots out of her hair, Raeith began to think Kara was unhappy with her. Kara would pull and Raeith would jump and squirm but Kara would tell her to hold still and pull some more. By the time Kara had finished with Raeith, she had been scrubbed pink, her hair was brown with a golden hue that traveled down her back almost to her waste and looked like warm silk and her shoes were properly tied. No one would classify Raeith as beautiful, but she did clean up well and might even be called pretty by those with less demanding taste. Glem watched Raeith take her seat by the fire with new appreciation.

Days turned to weeks and the snows came. Parts of the river froze over but the part that turned the sharp corner nearest the village flowed as quickly as ever. The pace of life in the village slowed drastically, most of the skins had already been turned to leathers, food had been stored for the months ahead, and all the old stories had been told many times over by the fire at night. Raeith didn't mind, she loved the comfort of the old stories as much as the excitement of the new ones. Glem often thought up new details about his adventure he had forgotten to share and perhaps parts of it were true. She was often asked to tell about her childhood but found if she asked questions of others, the attention would get deflected and she could listen as others talked. During this time Raeith learned many new skills; she learned how to make biscuits and where honey came from. She also learned to weave straw and made more mats for the hut then they had floor to put them on. But Poppie seemed so pleased with each one that Raeith just kept making more. She also learned to play games and the children soon learned she could be pulled into a game of hide under a bush or catch the caller, this made her a favorite amongst the children and they often congregated around her at storytime. She usually went out very early in the morning and brought back fish, or a few rabbits and one time a deer to help with the food supplies. Everyone was always happy to have the fresh meat and although curious did not ask how she hunted without spear or bow with the kill came back free of holes or other obvious injury. Some things were better not asked. Other things that changed in the village were the livestock. They had several sheep, three cows, and assortment of chickens who ran everywhere. Raeith soon learned chickens in the house made a mess and she spent time shooing them out the door. The winter months were peaceful and Raeith through the sharing of food, fun, love, and chores had been accepted as one of the kin.

Chapter Four...

When the scream came it was heard through the whole village, one of their own was in danger! Everything was dropped as everyone ran in the direction of the scream, the river. The sun was showing signs of warming the earth and the water that now gushed along the river overflowed and splashed off the many rocks and boulders in its path, it was a dangerous time of year since the water was wild but not all of the ice had melted. Naila, a petite redhead girl pointed frantically into the water and a small hand waved out from the rushing currents. "Tyn fell in! Help him!" she cries frantically. Two of the men jump into the freezing water and another runs downstream and jumps in from there as more of the villagers arrive at the riverbank to keep track of the boy while the men try to swim to him. Raeith and Poppie arrive and watch as the man furthest down the river finally gets his hands on the boy and begins swimming to shore. Someone grabs him from the water and a blanket is put around his tiny body, but he is not shivering. They turn the boy over to get the water out and hit him on the back, he is breathing, but just barely. He is turning blue. The boy's mother grabs the freezing child and pleads with him to keep breathing, but he does not listen and his little chest stops. Without thought Raeith jumped forward and put her hands on the little boy's freezing chest and pressed firmly, she feels the warm glow as it moves from her hands out to encompass the boy, his mother and herself. She searches for the tale tell feel of his heart but it is not there. She searches further sending her energy into the little body, looking for his energy, and there she feels it, very weak but present swirling around his core. As she connects with his energy, she gathers her own reaching deep inside herself where her life energy swirls and vibrates. She can't feel the swirling energy inside her with her body, it does not push against her organs but moves through them heavy and steady, she can feel it with her mind, it is the same with all living things, the lifeforce that moves inside them, always swirling in the same direction, but always a bit different. Some energies move fast and some slow and they all vibrate differently. She feels her energy gather at her will, and sends it down her arms and through her hands as it travels into the little body to join his energy. The green glow brightens around them and the vibrations change as it is absorbed by his life force, she can feel it change to his vibrations and swirl around his core, but it does not stay, she feels it leaving him. Raeith pulls more of her energy and it flows into the little boy, he is so close to the edge as she feels that energy pick up his rhythm and slowly dissipate. Again she pulls from her own life force, but there is not much left to give, she feels stretched and weak, the swirl of her energies slowing down but she gathers all she dares and sends that as well. It is in dismay she feels it enter his body and begin to flow back out, he needed more, but she had so little left. She has to keep him alive. The dead can't laugh or play hide in the bush, they can't sit near her when the stories are told and hold her hand on the scary parts, but he was so close, she needed more. As she searched the area feeling rather than seeing those around her, feeling there energy and knowing their identities from their individual patterns she sought someone she could pull from, and there beyond the gathered group of friends and frantic family, beyond the hill and the fence she felt the presence of life. Three cows stood contentedly in the sweet green pre-spring grass enjoying the weak rays of the sun. Without thought Raeith stretched one hand toward them, finding the swirling energy and pulling, willing it to come, she felt it resist, to pull back against her but she pulled harder, her other hand felt the presence of life leaving the little body of the boy and in desperation she pulled at the animals energy with all the will she had and felt it snap as it flew through her, filling her with life, she felt the vibrations alter as it swirled with her own, she felt its strength as the vibrations and patterns merged with her own life force as it become one with her and gave her an incredible surge of strength that made her light headed and her body buzz and hum, it made her stomach churn, but as it united with her own energy and settled, she pushed it slowly but firmly into the child's body, she felt it take hold, merge, and settle. Then she felt a little thump followed by another as his heart began to beat with the life force that was now steadily swirling through his body. She felt him breathing and the movement of blood. He would live. She weaved as the world spun around her and tilted.

When she finally opened her eyes Poppie was sitting in a chair beside her and the light from the sun was streaming through the open door beyond. Why was she in bed in mid-day? She looked at Poppie and saw tension in his face. "Poppie?" she questioned.

"Raeith, it has been a long couple of days, how do you feel?"

"Days?" she whispered, then slowly the events by the river came back to her. She had used her hands! She looked at Poppie with panic in her eyes. "Raeith bad?" was all she could say.

"Not bad," he tried to reassure her, "just different. Rest now, we can talk later."

It was the noise that woke her, there were people, perhaps the whole village and they seemed to be inside her room. "Enough!" Poppie roared "and get out!"

Words drifted into her room, words from the villagers, people she knew and have come to love, words like witch, evil, sorcerer, but the words that struck Raeith with full force, "She has to go!" Raeith hid in her room, if they didn't see her, they could not send her away.

"She saved Tyn's life! that is not evil" one voice claimed.

"She killed a cow just by pointing at it! Only someone evil can have the power to do that, it is witch-craft!"

"To save a child's life," the first voice answered.

"And if we upset her, who will be next?" asked a third. Silence followed those words as perhaps the speakers realized they were within earshot and perhaps the killing zone of the witch sleeping just two doors away.

"There will be a meeting tonight, Poppie, you should come." said a quiet voice, and with that the voices moved away.

That evening Poppie came into her room, she was sitting up in bed and was showing no signs of leaving it. "I need to step out for a bit," he told her without meeting her eyes. "Roddyn, who is Tyn's uncle, will be coming by to stay with you in case you need anything. I don't expect to be out long. It would be best if you stayed inside tonight." Without meeting her eyes he walked out the door.

It was getting late in the evening when there was a quiet knock on the door, Poppie answered it and she heard Roddyn's voice greet him. "It is time." and Poppie walked out the door.

The next knock she heard was on her door frame and the decidedly large form of Roddyn stood silhouetted by the light beyond. "May I come in?" he asked.

Raeith remained silent; perhaps he was sent to take her away! If she did not say anything, maybe he would leave.

"Please," came the quiet request.

"Come," was all she answered.

The large frame left the doorway and moved toward her and suddenly she felt vulnerable. His quiet, reassuring voice filled the room, "I just wanted to say thank you, but that does not seem like enough. You saved our Tyn and the people who should be greatful and celebrating have turned against you. My brother who was the Tyn's father died when he was just a babe, I have helped raise him and love him like my own." The gray figure dropped to his knees before her cot, his head bowed and he was silent for a moment, finally he added. "I stand with you and always will, you have my solemn vow Raeith of the Woods." In the silence that followed the large shadow returned to his feet and left her room.

The meeting had ended in a draw, there were people who were genuinely frightened by what they saw and wanted her out, but there were an equal number of people who said she is kin and kin stays. Everyone finally agreed nothing would happen until the snow cleared. They would not send a young girl out until winter finally lost its hold and spring was firmly in place.

The days passed into weeks and most of the snow melted. The bright green grass of early spring turned a darker green as the tender sprouts strengthened in the warming sun. It seemed like all Raeith did anymore was sleep, but she was afraid to leave her room and there was nothing else to do. Poppie had become quiet and withdrawn but always did his best to put on a cheerful face when he knew she was watching.

"How about a walk today," he asked her cheerfully. "You haven't made any new mats in so long, I am afraid we will wear out the old ones and be back to a cold floor. Raeith looked at the floor and the matts that covered it three deep in the low areas and tried to smile at Poppie. "Raeith stay" was her typical answer.

"You can't hide forever," Poppie finally told her exasperated. "You are going to have to face them, and they are going to have to face you, so go get dressed, we are going for a walk."

Raeith remembered stepping out from around a large downed tree and running face to face with a wolf when she was very young. She remembered how scared she was every time she had to go anywhere near that tree for some time to come, but that seemed insignificant with how she felt now. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her hands were wet, she felt hot all over and her stomach started to hurt. "I don't feel very well" she told Poppie, and from her pale face he believed her.

"Then we will make this a quick walk, the air will do you good," he added as he put an arm around her and steered her toward the door.

She tilted her head up just a touch, held her breath and stepped out the door, Poppie was right behind her. To her left she heard a gasp and further on a child started crying, people who were near her moved away and avoided looking at her. Then Roddyn's calls out to her, "Raeith, good morning to you! We had almost given up on your making an appearance." He said this all loudly and with a huge smile while he walked toward her. "Good morning Poppie," he added. "I was just going fishing and I would love the company. Come along," he added before Raeith could think of some way to slide back into the house. Having no choice, she followed his broad back while he went to fetch three poles then drug her and Poppie toward the river for a day of sun, water and hopefully, fish.

The fish were on short supply that day, but the sun and water there was plenty of. Much of the day was spent listening to Roddyn's and Poppie compare lies about the fish they caught and the ones that got away, but it was pleasant and considering everything that was happening, pleasant was very good indeed. A few times someone would drop by and fish with them for a while; they would often cast Raeith a smile then head on their way. It wasn't a flashy show of support, but in there way, they were trying to let her know she still belonged.

Once the sun decided to make the effort, the snow cleared quickly even in the valley below. Life although different had become a steady stream of daily walks, fishing and matt weaving. There were people who stopped by to chat and would include her in conversation at the fire, only a few people still shied away from her or avoided meeting her eyes. It was on a pleasant evening on a day blessed with many fresh fish for dinner that Nona approached her. She had not talked to the woman since before the episode by the river and honestly felt nervous as she approached. At first Nona did not say anything, then as the tears began to fill her soft gray eyes, she handed the bundle in her hands to Raeith and whispered "Thank you", then left.

The bundle was soft and Raeith carried it into the hut she and Poppie shared since the night she came to this village. Laying it on her cot she picked up the red cloth from the top and it unfolded to reveal a shirt. It was beautifully made with a softness and warmth that could only come from the sheep they raised but a color that was similar to the spring flowers that grew along the bank of the lake near where she lived in the woods. She held the shirt to her cheek taking in the warmth and texture before carefully placing it on the cot and unfolding the leather leggings, although extremely supple, she put them to the side to pick up the boots. They were leather on the outside with rabbit fur on the inside and at the top, the bottom of the shoe was leather over leather to help keep water out and were in a deep rich color to match the buckskin colored breeches. She quickly changed into her new clothes and pulled the boots on, they were so soft and reached up almost to her knees. It had taken a lot of time to carefully weave the string through all the holes from her foot to the top, but it was worth it. These fit perfect and did not feel like they would ever fall off. Never had she possessed such a treasure and walking around in the new clothes and especially the boots made her feel special. When Poppie walked into the hut she practically danced out to meet him, twirling and smiling as she shared her new clothes with him.

That night she wore her new outfit to the fire for storytelling and grinned broadly at Nona when she smiled shyly at Raeith. That night she carefully put the shirt and breeches at the end of her bed, but slept with her boots clutched tightly to her chest.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 5:

The berries seemed to bloom on every bush and were often served at the end of the nightly meal. Spring had a strong hold and most of the talk of Raeith leaving had come to a stop. She was part of this kin and always would be. If she were a witch, she was their witch, but mostly she was just Raeith.

The spring season also started the busy season, the seeds that were saved from the year before had to be planted and food replenished. The rabbits and other small fare were in abundance so there was fresh meat almost every night. New skins had to be cured and herbs had to be gathered and dried. It was a happy time of year, the weather was pleasant and everyone seemed glad to see the snow recede and the green shoots from the garden start to sprout. Normally Raeith would have been out hunting for larger game, but her ability to kill without spear or bow was not something she wanted anyone to think about, so she spent her time helping where she could and covering every floor in the village with mats.

The village, as its name indicated, was a long way from the other communities that dotted the land so it was an unusual but exciting experience when a visitor arrived. Chores would be put to the side, food would arrive from every hut and the fire would blaze as stories were once again dusted off to share and new stories and news from other areas to be heard. It was a time to socialize and interact, it was in this spirit the stranger from a neighboring but distant village was greeted. As he accepted the ale saved for such special occasions his face appeared drawn and his personality somber. When the ale was drunk he asked to speak to the elders in lieu of sitting by the fire as was traditional.

The men gathered in Poppies hut while Raeith waited outside with the others for the news that would bring a visitor so far without stopping for the festivities that should follow.

"War has come," he told the gathered men that met in Poppies hut.

The men looked at him and waited for him to elaborate. "There are forces gathering in the east and some have already come through neighboring villages. They leave nothing but death as a testament to their passing. No one has actually seen them, no one alive to tell about it at least. But the prints left are similar to human, but smaller, and often point in, the other tracks are more like wolves, but larger than anything I have ever seen.  
"Wolves and man fighting together" Moddyn scoffed. "That just does not happen."

"It happened, and may happen again. I am making the rounds letting each village know, you may want to leave this area in case they get this far south."

"There are others in this area, Poppie said, "Like the old lady in the glade."

"I have my hands full informing villages; it will be up to you and your people to tell any others in your area. I have to keep moving, but I do wish you luck." With that the man left the hut and village to continue his journey.

"War, here…, it just can't happen. We have seen no enemies in my lifetime or my father's before me," Moddyn stated, but he did not look convinced.

"War," the word was whispered everywhere people gathered to talk. "But they were so far south, this unknown enemy could not find their way here," they told themselves. But the preparations had already begun. Hunts for game became a daily chore as food was being stocked up with much more care. Buckets and barrels were being made and filled with water, and large stones were being gathered as a makeshift wall was slowly coming into existence. Weapons were also being made and the men often kept busy creating arrows well into the evening while resting around the fire. Children were rewarded with smiles and pats for finding sharp stones, but they were forbidden to wander beyond the sight of their cautious parents.

"I will be leaving for a couple of days," Poppie announced to Raeith. "There is an old woman that lives alone in a glade nearly one day's walk from here, she needs to be informed and invited to come here if she wishes."

"Raeith come," she suggested with a smile.

"Not this time, you are needed here to help prepare, there is still much that needs to be done."

The smile left Raeith's face but she obeyed without complaint.

Chapter Six...

The glade that housed the old woman was well hidden from view and few knew it was even there, but Poppie knew. He found the little hut and its occupant many seasons ago and although he came out to check on her each year before winter set in, the glade never seemed to change, neither did the old woman.

She waited for him by the door like she always did and he never asked how she seemed to know he was coming, then she turned silently and walked into the hut, Poppie followed. Once seated, the old woman looked Poppie in the eyes and asked, "Where is the girl."

Poppie was not really surprised she knew about Raeith, she seemed to know everything. "She is at the village helping to prepare for war."

"Ah, the wolves from the east have been let loose and the wind carries the sounds of war. It has been a long time in coming." Her expression was distant as though she looked back in time.

"Wolves?"

"Wargs," she replied, "The look of a wolf but the size of a horse. They are handled by orcs and gobblins, nasty things those creatures, but much worse if mounted on wargs." She sighed, war has come… Her eyes snapped back to Poppie, "protect the girl, she is not as strong as she seems."

Poppie had a cup of tea with the old woman while he tried to convince her to leave the glade for the relative protection of the village, she just smiled an old wrinkled smile and her eyes danced, "I will be fine," she assured him.

Poppie shared what he had learned from the old woman with the men of his kin, we will need better weapons, a stronger wall, more supplies... "What good will an arrow be against a wolf the size of a horse?" Aniolad asked. "We should take our families and leave!"

"And go where?" Poppie asked. "There are a few certain things about war, we are no more likely to outrun it then outrun the wind. We have a better chance here behind the wall we are building then in the open woods with no provisions. It is here we must stand."

The men looked at each other in uncertainty then Glem spoke up, "We do have Raeith, can't she just suck the life out of the wargs then we can kill the orcs with arrows?" It was a thought several had, but no one else was comfortable suggesting the use of majic, they felt much better pretending it did not exist and up until now Raeith had been happy to play along. Everyone looked at Poppie, they did not like the thought of majic, but they were more concerned about the wargs, and she did kill the cow, what if she could do the same with the wargs or even the orcs! They would not rise up against this village again with someone like her to protect them.

The old woman's warning sounded in Poppies ears, "no, she is not a weapon, she is family."

"If the wargs do come, and we can't beat them with the weapons we do have, then we all die," pointed out Aniolad. "Perhaps we should let her decide?"

"Come hunt with me," Roddyn called to Raeith. She was often invited fishing and for walks so she happily followed him out of the village and past the river. It was then she noticed he carried no weapon. "You forget bow," she told him with a grin, he often teased her about forgetting things and it was nice to be the one who remembered. "Raeith go get."

"I don't need it today," he replied to her back as she started running to the village.

She turned a confused look in his direction, "but we go hunting?"

"We are, rather, you are."

"Raeith no hunt," She informed him.

"Raeith hunts today."

Big eyes met Roddyn's. "Raeith no hunt," she whispered as she started to back away.

"Come along, we will discuss it," he said as he headed deeper into the woods.

Raeith followed but from much further back.

It was late afternoon when they found the tracks of a deer and turned direction to track it. Raeith had not spoken to Roddyn since he informed her he expected her to hunt. As they closed in on the deer Roddyn stopped and waited for Raeith to catch up. "There, up ahead, see him?" he asked. "Go ahead, take him down," he pressured.

"Raeith no hunt."

"We need you to hunt; we need to know if you still can."

"Raeith no hunt, no kill! Raeith good!" she growled at him. The sound alerted the deer and they watched as it ran off to safety. Exasperated Roddyn sat on the ground and waited for Raeith to join him.

"There is a time when it is good to kill," he started, but he received a doubtful look in response. "What I mean is if the orcs come, I will kill them to protect my family and kin. If keeping them safe means killing the enemy, then I would kill all of the enemy and call it good. It is because I love my family and kin that I am willing to kill or even die for them."

Raeith paled at the thought that Roddyn could die, it seemed so much worse than the thought of him killing. She looked at her hands, could she use them to kill if it were to protect Poppie? Yes, she knew she could and would, perhaps she was really bad but to keep Poppie safe, she was willing to do anything.

Roddyn watched Raeith, her expression changed with each thought that crossed her mind. It was good she was an honest person because he doubted she could lie successfully. He also knew when she decided she would help and he quietly got to his feet. "Finish tracking that deer, "he told her, "then come back to the village, don't be out to late or Poppie will have both of our hides."

It was much later than planned when she staggered into the village with the deer draped over her shoulders. Most of the kin were gathered around the fire and the talk fell to silence when she walked into view. Roddyn stepped up to Raeith and transferred the deer from her shoulders to his then went to the edge of the clearing to begin to clean and prepare the meat. Raeith went to join Poppie by the fire and sat down heavily beside him, the uncomfortable silence echoing through her mind.

It was only a moment more before Glem piped up, "And did I mention that bear was taller than two men standing end on end when it stood full height, and let me tell you, it was standing full height! It had to bend way down just to roar in my face, that is when I knew I was in trouble…"

The rest of the evening passed in relaxed chatter, until one by one the people gathered there children and went off to sleep.

Chapter Six...

Raeith hunted daily from that day on bringing home fresh deer, rabbit and on occasion, a turkey. Those were the hardest to pull but she tried to extend the distance she could use her newly accepted skills. The talk of war had gone on for so long that the fear associated with the word began to dissipate. It became one more thing to talk about around the fire and although they continued to prepare, the focus of life slowly began to change back to normal. That made it quite a surprise when suddenly dog yelped and fell over. There was a thick arrow with black feathers protruding from his side.

"Attack!" she heard from one of the men. "To the wall!" came the next yell. She watched as her people scrambled from there huts, and ran in from the nearby fields racing toward the small opening in the wall. She stood frozen watching men gather up the children that were not fast enough to keep up and listening to the screaming of both women and children, but not really hearing anything. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and yanked her toward the wall, "Get in there," a voice growled at her, "and get down." She found the hole in the wall and was quickly pushed toward the other women and children. Arrows started flying and she heard the plunk, plunk, plunk as they landed all around. Children were crying and dogs were barking but above it all Raeith heard a snarling that chilled her blood. The wargs were here! War had found them. The first volley of arrows had everyone hunkered down behind the wall, but soon the men were in their positions and flinging arrows back. More than a few hit their mark, but did little damage to the thick hides of wargs. "Hit the orcs!" Roddyn yelled and released a shot into one that had come to close and watched as he slid off the warg and to the ground.

"Poppie!" Raeith yelled as she looked around in panic.

"Here," came his response and she saw him near the wall tending Moddyn.

With a cry of pain Glem fell back from the wall, there was an arrow protruding from his shoulder. Two women helped lead him back to Poppie for care and Raeith was right behind him. No sooner had Glem slid down the wall to sit in a pain filled heap when Poppie grabbed the arrow, broke it and yanked it out all before Glem had time to scream. But scream he did and Raeith threw her hands over his shoulder and let the green aura cover them both. It seemed the wounded came back as quickly as Raeith healed, she would send one to the wall and another would return either under his own power or being drug by the women who had taken on the duty. It seemed like every man in the village had been under Raeiths hands and she was feeling the strain. She was becoming light headed and needed more energy, too much was going out. Cobryn was the next to be brought to her under the care of the women, she put her hands on his wound and nothing happened. No green aura, no transfer of energy, nothing. Raeith looked into his face and understood; he was already dead. Suddenly the war was real, she looked at Poppie and knew he would not survive the day, neither would Roddyn or the children. There were too many! She looked at the men at the wall and thought of the words Roddyn told her so long ago, "If keeping them safe means killing the enemy, then I would kill all of the enemy and call it good. It is because I love my family and kin that I am willing to kill or even die for them." She watched him at the wall and knew the truth of those words. Slowly, as if in a trance, she walked to the wall where the men fought and fell but it was too tall for her to see the enemy. She went to the opening in the wall and looked with shock and horror at the size and number of the wargs and there riders pacing through her village. She extended her hand toward one that saw her and started in her direction and felt the pull as it's energy left it's body and entered hers, it was all wrong! The energy was sharp and jagged and swirled in the wrong direction. It hurt as it entered her traveling in the wrong way and changing the natural rhythm and vibrations in her own body to chaos. She was still able to see as the shocked face of the orc riding the fallen warg turned to a snear and he continued the path to her, she raised her hands and a moment later watched as he fell also. The pattern of this force caused the chaos inside her to a frenzied pitch, it would not join her energy, the vibrations did not merge it seem to shake her whole body.

This pattern continued for what seemed like an eternity and all she could see and hear were the enemy, she would pull at their life-force and they would drop. Still she pulled and they dropped orc or warg, it made no difference and the energy that flowed into her filled her until she felt she might shatter. She did not really see the enemy any more, just searched for the pattern that was so different from any she had felt before, then pulled. How many dropped before her she did not know, she did not see their faces anymore, she did not see the villiage or even feel when the sharp point of an arrow penetrated her side and rested almost feather deep into her flesh. All she felt was the vibrations on the inside fighting her own lifeforce, changing the direction her own energy swirled, but still she pulled until she reached out towards the strange backward chaos that was moving toward her but instead of pulling energy, energy shot out of her hand as a streak of blue-green light blazed a trail from her fingers toward a mounted orc. Both orc and warg dropped instantly and the relief from releasing the pent up energy was incredible. The pressure and chaos ebbed and her natural rhythm fought for control. Raeith released more energy at another orc and felt him drop as well. She stretched out one palm and pulled energy from one pulsepoint of vibration while she pointed with her other hand and sent the energy back out. Both sets dropped and Raeith knew she had found a powerful new weapon. How long she stood there pulling and sending energy she did not know but eventually the remaining wargs with their riders slunk back across the river and beyond her reach. As her eyes lost focus on the enemy and her world came back into view, she saw Poppie standing over her looking very worried. He slowly put a hand on her arm and led her back behind the wall to tend her. There was much noise both from grief and excitement but it all seemed like a buzz from insects and no more important. She felt as Poppie broke the arrow that was protruding from her side and felt hands support her as Poppie prepared to pull the shaft out, he said something to her, but he seemed so far away.

Morning met her as she slept on the ground by the wall. Everybody was there, almost everybody. They lost Cobryn and Moddyn and Aniolad was wounded badly, everyone else was recovering well. She struggled to her feet and staggered slightly as the blood rushed down leaving her lightheaded. She gasped in pain when her unbalanced body fell against the wall and the tear in her side began to bleed. "First things first," Poppie said as he put and arm around her and helped her back down to a sitting position. He placed her hand over her wound. "Heal." he commanded, and smiled as a soft green glow wrapped around her. By midday she had recovered her strength and Aniolad was healing nicely. The sounds of the wargs and riders could not be heard and the men decided it was time to leave the safety of the wall and make sure the enemy was truly gone.

Raeith left the wall behind the men and really saw the price of war. Bodies of both warg and rider lay everywhere, many had arrows protruding, but so many more bore no sign or the sign of scorch marks only. She walked through the bodies and looked at the faces of the dead. She had killed them; she took what was living and made it dead. She looked at Poppie and tried to remember why she had to kill them, that it was good, but she did not feel good, for the first time ever, she felt very bad.

Chapter Seven...

It took almost three days to clean up the mess, fires were set and bodies were drug to them to be burned. One hut was burned down and several others had damage, but the village had survived. The sounds of construction filled the air and happy chatter could be heard everywhere. Women hummed tunes and the children, although they could not leave the area, played and laughed with merry hearts. Raeith slept. At first Poppie believed she was really tired, she had been through so much and just healing the boy by the river long ago had taken so much out of her it took a couple of days for her to regain consciousness. This time had been much more demanding. He saw the strain on her as she healed but what he witnessed when she fought was as spectacular as it was frightening. The first time she struck the pair down with the light everyone on both sides quit fighting and stared. He knew she was different but not even Poppie had any idea such power could be contained in one person. He watched her sleep and worry crept back into his mind. It wasn't the amount of time she spent asleep that was the problem, it was when she was awake, she seemed so unhappy. She wasn't smiling! That was it, he had not seen her smile since before the attack. She wasn't really eating much either, and for Raeith, that was very unusual. She ate everything, even his portage.

PART 2:

Chapter Eight...

With a sigh Brenidth walked into the great hall, he knew this hall as well as his own rooms. He had spent much time here since his mother's death, shortly after his own birth and raised on his father's knee. This father, Cirdan, King of Amman, had summoned him to a council, so he and Boradon, his best friend and personal guard had left Belfasas, and hurried to answer his summons. War was coming, but not to this land, at least not yet. It had started in the land between the seas commonly referred to as Middle Earth. The problem was there were two ways to Amman from Middle Earth, and those ways had to be protected. The first way was over the seas, but Cirdan was not only the king of this land, he was the shipwright. He controlled who crossed those seas and evil was not going to come via that route. The other way was through a gate that had long been sealed. During the first war in Amman when the Elves, Wizards and Majic folk fought, the gate had been sealed by his father. Only a few knew where to find the key, but amongst those few was the Wizard of the Great Council. He had been one of Cirdan's most trusted advisors, but now the wind blew differently and Ciridan did not know if his old friend and confidant could be trusted.

The gate was in a series of tunnels which started in a land called Lindon in Middle Earth and included a large and twisted maze of tunnels, caverns and halls before reaching the window to this world, but reaching the gate would not be enough, without the key it was just another wall of stone. It was these tunnels that Brendith, the third and youngest son of the king would be sent to defend.

"Brendith," the king greeted his son with a smile. Although tall like his father, with the gray eyes and light hair so common amongst the elves, he had the dark complexion of his mother. He also had her kindness, but as his father thought proudly, he had his personality. He was honorable, courageous, and strong.

As they approached the platform where the king currently was holding court, Boradon, unable to help himself, winked at nearly every girl he passed, and even blew a kiss at one of the elderly matrons who was seated by the wall.

"Incourageable," the king grumbled. Although a hopeless flirt, he knew Boradon did not mean anything by it, and no one, especially not the elderly matrons, took him seriously. Boradon had proven himself many times in battle and in the aid and protection of his son. More than that, he had been around court since both he and his son were young boys, the king thought of him as an extension of his own family.

The council of the elders met, but the mission was not what Brendith expected. "There is a weapon in Middle Earth that has been found. We do not know it's origins or specifically what it is, staff, sword or stone but find it and return it to Amman, and if that is not possible, destroy it." the king looked directly at Brenidth, "It is a weapon that should be in our possession, but most importantly, it must be kept out of the reach of the enemy. War has come to Middle Earth, and in Middle Earth war shall stay. It must not be allowed to reach our shores.

Brenidth and Boradon waited patiently for the council to continue, they knew there were legends of majic weapons and relics hidden within that world and understood the importance of keeping them safe from those who wished to destroy Amman. They would leave on the tide.


	5. Chapter 4

The biscuits with butter and honey sat untouched on the plate, with the exception of the one Raeith was slowly tearing to bits and leaving as a pile of crumbs. Poppie watched her; she sat hunched in the chair with her head on her hand and her elbow on the table. She seemed lost in thought but whatever she was thinking, it did not seem pleasant. He had tried to talk to her over the last few days, but her replies had been short, yes, no, I don't care. He had also tried to take her fishing and Roddyn tried to take her hunting, but there seemed to be no interest in anything. He needed to do something, but did not know what, he needed advise. Perhaps a woman's advice. That was an uncomfortable thought. He was definitely going to have to find a female to talk to her.

Poppie had several of the females from the village stop in to see her over the next week and try to get her to talk about what might be bothering her, but there was no improvement. Finally Poppie had an idea.

As they stepped through the opening to the glade, Raeith stopped, her head swung up and her eyes that had been dull and disinterested suddenly became bright. The old woman stood at her door as usual and waited for them to approach. Raeith reached the old woman and dropped to her knees head bowed low. Poppie waited at the entrance of the glen and watched. He knew the old lady was different; Raeith seemed to know it as well.

The old woman smiled at the bent head and patted it. "Come," she said, and walked into the hut.

Raeith followed the old woman and Poppie followed Raeith. By the time they were seated, the woman had the tea poured into the cups and passed around. "Drink."

The old woman seemed to study Raeith for so long that Raeith started to squirm under the scrutiny. The old gray eyes seemed to see everything, past, present and future. "I have waited many years to meet you, but you are tired, rest now child, we will talk soon." As if on command, Raeith's eyes grew heavy and she let out a huge yawn. She moved from the chair to a mat covering the floor by a small crackling fire, and was soon asleep.

"This will be a restful sleep," the woman told Poppie. "Let us talk under the trees, and then you can take your leave. I will watch over the girl until she is well."

"I am not leaving her," Poppie stated flatly, "and she is not un-well."

"Is she not?" was the quiet reply.

Life in the glade was peaceful; the stream came up almost to the door and made small gurgling sounds. The area around was teeming with life, there were frogs, dragonflies, mice and other critters as well as birds and a family of raccoons with a mother, father and three playful young. The young came to the water's edge every morning and if you did not keep an eye on them, would play hide and find with stored food and herbs in the pantry. Raeith had tea every morning with Granny, as the old woman called herself, under the trees that canopied the hut, then picked berries, herbs and mushrooms until mid-day. Granny spent most evenings mixing herbs and stacking the days find out to dry. Raeith offered to hunt but Granny told her no. "The animals here expect sanctuary, they look out for me, and I look out for them."

"You don't kill them, even for meat?" Raeith asked.

"Not even for meat."

"Killing is bad." Raeith said after a pause.

"No, killing is not always bad, but it does always scar your soul."

"My soul?"

"The part of you that cannot be seen, but it is very important. If you kill your soul, you are beyond dead. To die is natural. Look around, the squirrel will die, so will the birds and eventually even the raccoon young, it is the way of things. But they will also fight and if necessary, kill. They will kill to protect their young or their home. They will kill to protect themselves or their feeding ground, and they will kill to eat. That is not bad, but it does leave a scar on the soul. It is that pain which tells us we are good, that we would choose to let live, and that we value life. That is what makes us good Raeith, to value life and not take it if there is a choice. War came to your land and you had to kill, would you have let your enemy live if they were willing to leave your land? If they did not threaten your family or your home?"

Raeith thought of the faces of her enemy lying dead in the village and nodded, her throat was closed and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"You are good Raeith; the pain you feel proves you are good." Granny patted Raeith on the shoulder and walked back into the hut. The healing had begun.

How many villages were there in the land forsaken by the gods? Brendith pushed through the never ending brush, there was green everywhere, he was really beginning to dislike green. He also did not like the wet sticky heat; sweat creased his face and streaked down his back. The brush grabbed at his clothes and tangled around his sword.

"The next village is not much further ahead," Boradon called. He did not care for the brush either, but listening to his always "in control" friend grumble at the greenery was quite amusing. At home the greenery would have probably separated for him to pass without trouble, or as least Brendith would expect it to. Life had not always been easy for his friend, Boradon thought, but if Brendith said jump, most everybody did. It was not just being the youngest son of the King, but his years as Captain of the West guard. He held that post for many years and had faced a multitude of dangerous situations, always putting himself in the line of danger with his men. Brendith could be difficult, and he had questionable people skills, but his honor or courage could not be questioned. People respected that, they respected him. So if he said jump, they usually did. The weeks they have been on this quest left Brendith in short temper. "Just find some weapon, but we don't know what it is, or where it is, but bring it back and be quick about it," he heard Brendith grumble at the greenery. Boradon just smiled.

"Raeith is home! Raeith is home!" Tyn yelled and danced around her. The village stopped what they were doing and joined him in wishing her welcome and celebrating her return. As everyone gathered around the fire pit, Glem called for the Ale, and Raeith was treated better than a much anticipated visitor, she was treated like family.

Fishing was an important chore in the life of a villager, but whether or not it would bear fruit was a matter of chance. Early the morning after Raeith's return, Tyn met her at the door with poles in hand. "C'mon," he tugged her arm and pleaded. "If I am fishing, Ma can't give me chores." he explained. With a grin Raeith agreed and waving a quick bye to Poppie, headed to the river. It was a perfect day with the exception of not catching any fish. Not even one nibble, fishing was a great way to get out of chores, but you were expected to actually catch some fish. Discouraged, Tyn rose to his feet, "we had better go back, I am sure Ma has chores for me to do." Just as Raeith was about to get up she had an idea, she looked around to make sure no one was looking, gathered up her energy, and pushed her palm towards the water. Blue-green streaks covered the surface then were gone, but fish began to float to the top. Both she and Tyn jumped into the waste deep river and began to pick up the stunned fish before they woke up and swam away. It was a happy crowd that congratulated them on catching eleven fish in one morning.

Chapter nine...

This village was a quiet one that was well out of their way. Boradon and Brendith would have skipped it entirely if they had not heard the rumor that the wargs and riders had passed through here and somehow the village remained.

The welcome they received was quaint, but they understood it was the very best the village had to offer. Boradon held his mug of ale high in the air and wished blessings on the village and its occupants. He told stories of far off places and winked at all the girls, the single ones at least. It would be poor manners to fight husbands. When the stories were winding down that evening, he pulled out his flute and began to play a happy tune that caused many a foot to tap.

The next day the reason for the visit became clear as they began to ask questions of a weapon that was expected to be in the area, "You might not even realize what it is" Brendith stated, "a stone with a mark on it, a sword that was found or perhaps a staff? It could be anything that seems unusual." It seemed like they asked every person in the village, some people they asked twice and Brendith felt like they were beginning to outstay their welcome.

"We are never going to get these people to cooperate." Brendith grumbled.

"That is because we are not asking the right questions." Boradon grinned at Brendith's blank stare, "The weapon is not a sword or a staff."

Brendith snapped at him, "Well, what is it then, a rune?"

"No, not a rune either." He looked back at his friend, this quest had taken its toll, Brendith was a person who faced a challenge, made a plan, and then made it happen. Searching for weeks for the unknown was grinding on his every nerve. "It is not a sword or staff or stone, it is a girl."

Brendith sighed, "It is always a girl with you."

"But this time it really is a girl," he nodded his head in Raeith's direction, "her."

He looked at the skinny girl with the redheaded boy in tow, "What makes you believe she is our all-powerful mysterious weapon?" The idea was ridiculous.

"They told me." Boradon answered nodding his head towards the villagers.

"Of course, they walked up and said, you know that weapon you have been scouring this land for? She is right over there."

Sometimes Boradon really wanted to knock his friend on his butt. "They told you too, but you are too blind to hear."

Brendith gave his friend a worried look, "to blind to hear? Have you been under this sun too long or is this what happens to you when you are not around women?"

Boradon grinned, "It has been hard having so few at my beck and call, but no, ask someone again about the weapon, then LOOK at where they look. These villagers do not lie well."

Brendith approached an older man, Poppie he heard the people call him, "I am sure you know I have been sent to find a weapon of great power, do you have any knowledge of anything unusual that you may have seen or perhaps heard of?"

Poppie looked Brendith right in the eyes, "I have heard you are searching for some fabled weapon, but I do not know of any. I do wish you the best of fortune in your hunt. Perhaps you can try the village to the east, it is much larger than our little home and there are many more travelers that pass through, they may know something useful." then Poppie turned away.

Boradon just shrugged his shoulders, "try another."

Brendith snatched the arm of the redheaded child as he ran by. "Wait just a moment; I have an important question for you."

The child whirled around and looked a little frightened as Brendith released his arm. Boradon gave Brendith an irritated look then squatted down to the child's height, "I am trying to decide what story to share tonight and I thought you might help me pick one." Boradon told the child. "What kind of stories do you like?"

The boy thought for just a minute. "I like scary ones."

"Hmmm," Boradon seemed to give the answer thought. "I think I know of a good one, but I will have to be careful not to scare the other children who might not be as brave as you are."

Tyn puffed out his chest in pride, "Don't worry, I will sit by them if they get scared," he volunteered.

"That would be very good. I know that will make the other children feel much better. Speaking of being a brave person, have you heard about the weapon we are looking for?" Both Boradon and Brendith watched his red head swivel to look at the girl now coming back from the river, when he looked again at Boradon, his eyes were large and he shook his head no while backing away towards his mother.

Brendith just looked at the girl.


	6. Chapter 5

That night as Boradon played his flute around the fire Brendith watched not just the girl but the whole village. The children sat around the girl and at her feet seemingly drawn to her quiet presence and the adults stayed between him and his prey. There looks were not hostile, but uneasy as they watched him back. Hospitality was expected for any strangers moving through these parts but Brendith had the distinct impression both he and Boradon would be asked to move along their way sooner rather than later.

Again his eyes drifted toward the girl highlighted in the fires light. He knew her name was Raeith; she was young, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old. In some villages old enough to marry, but the people here seemed to treat her as they did there young, with guidance and protection. He had heard her speak to others, her voice quiet but her use of language uneducated even compared to the simpler standards of the village. Perhaps she was slow in the mind but her eyes did not seem to indicate that. She was thin, with brown hair that seemed to glow gold and red with the fires reflection. Her eyes he thought were the color of the plants that grew on the rocks of fast moving rivers, sometimes brown, sometimes green. He watched as she reached down and rustled the red hair of Tyn and watched the boy look back at her with pure worship. She was loved. It was one thing to come into a village and take a weapon, some item that although powerful would be in the best interest of the people to have removed, but to take a child was different. This was clearly her family and the thought of taking her away from them caused an ache in his chest. There was no choice he reminded himself, she was a girl, but if his father was correct, and he usually was, a powerful weapon that could not land in the hands of the enemy. Brendith remembered again his father's words, "find it and return it to Amman, and if that is not possible, destroy it." Brendith looked at the girl and knew he could not destroy her and that left him only one choice, bring her to Amman.

At the end of Boradon's tune, Brendith began to speak, his voice finding the cadence of a storyteller as he began to tell the group about his home. He described the people and plants, the animals and streams; he spun a tale of peace and joy where only the most pleasant of dreams could conjure. He talked of days by the lazy river and music every night played by both the elves and the night birds. He described a moon that when at its fullest, you could almost reach out and touch and the majic that could be found on such nights as you were lured to walk tended paths through gardens larger than all the lands around them. He spun a tale of such beauty everyone around the fire yearned to see it, as he spun his tale, Boradon quietly played music that seemed to add to the story a depth of feeling pulling at both the imagination and the heart.

If he was going to take this girl from her home, he wanted to offer her something better. He spun his tale of the world she would soon be a part of and hoped the majic he laced through his words would persuade her to follow willingly and without fear.

"No!" It was loud and final as it reverberated through Poppies hut. Brendith stood inside the main room of the hut explaining to Poppie why he was here. The power of the girl was known and others would be searching for her. She was not safe here and she would need to leave with him. The word came from Raeith, always quiet he did not pay attention to the presence in the adjoining room; that is until she came out, yelled the one word in his face and stormed out of the hut.

Never had she been as angry as she listened to the words the stranger had said to Poppie while the anger and fear built up in her causing her energy to hum. He talked in that smooth voice words meant to doom her, the energy went from a hum to a buzz. It sped through her making it hard to hear, to comprehend, but she knew enough, she knew she needed to stay and she knew she needed to release the energy before she did something bad, like put a hole through the elf, she was pretty sure she would regret it later, at least she thought she probably would. In desperation and because she could not stand to hear the words she stormed out of her room, looked him right in the eyes, yelled NO and stormed out. It was not enough, she had to release the energy, seeing the fire pit as a safe place, she swung her hands in that direction and saw as blue green light left her hands and flames leaped higher than the surrounding building breaking into pieces the charred logs from the night before. She was still so angry she did not see Boradon leaning against the wall of her hut, she did not see him jump back in surprise as the flames leapt to life where there had been only coals a moment before and she did not see him smile as he watched her storm out of the little village toward the river.

Boradon was many things, but a fool was not one of them. He would wait for her to cool off then follow her. She would need time to think and although it would be hard for her to leave her home, they had very little choice. The power felt by Cirdan, King of Amman would have been felt by others and those others just like Cirdan would be searching for her. When they found her, they would destroy her village, and kill everyone in it, she would be taken and there would not be songs of forest friends and gardens to make the adjustment easier. She would be used or destroyed. At least in Amman she would be protected, the king was powerful but he was also kind. He would keep her out of the hands of the enemy and let her live as she would. Her village would survive the best it could with the war looming over this land, but it had a better chance than if it became the target of the enemy itself. It was in this mind and spirit that Boradon left the shelter of the huts eve and followed her.

He was trying to take her away, well; it was not going to work. This was her home and here she would stay Raeith mumbled to herself. She was so caught up in her own spinning thoughts she did not hear Boradon approach until he was right behind her. She whirled around and he put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Easy there" the tried to reassure her, "I just wanted to talk with you, nothing more".

She glared in response.

"Come walk with me," he coaxed.

"Raeith Stay" she insisted.

"So I hear" he gave her a gentle smile and coaxed her into walking with him. He kept his stride slow to match hers.

"Do you know why we came looking for you?" he asked. At her frown he continued, "We have a king, his name is Cirdan and he is powerful and wise. He felt your power probably during the fight with the orcs and knew something was in this world that was too dangerous to allow in the hands of our enemy. You see, our land is across the water," he waved a hand to indicate an expanse in the distance "and although it is safe from the war that now plagues this land, our world is not immune to it. There are doorways to our land and if the enemy finds its way to our shores the war will come with it. We are still recovering from the last war that ravaged our land for over 600 years. Although it has been over for more than 100 years, the people and land still bear the fresh scars. We will not allow such a thing to happen again. We cannot allow a powerful weapon that can be used against us left in the hands of our enemies, even if that weapon is a girl. They would come for you and take you, they would destroy your whole village and everyone in it, and you would be in the hands of the enemy that would use you if he can or destroy you if he can't. By taking you with us, it keeps you and your family safe."

"How would they be safe? If they come, they will destroy and Raeith not here to protect."

"We can leave the Horn of Xyren; it is the personal horn of the king himself and will call his guard to him if ever he is in danger. We carry that horn with us on this journey and will leave it with your elder. If ever your people are in danger they have only to blow it and kings own guard will answer the call and protect them. "He watched the emotions play across her face and saw resignation when it came. "It is the best I can offer your people, we will fight to protect them, but you must come with us, neither of us has a choice."

When Raeith returned to the village with Boradon at her side she could not bring herself to look at Poppie. She had to find a way to tell him she was leaving but did not know how.

Poppie waited by the door of their hut for her to return and knew as soon as he saw her she had made her decision, she would leave. Poppie missed her already but understood the danger. If she stayed, she would be hunted. He thought about her standing alone at the opening in their rock wall fighting enemies that seemed to have no end. He remembered seeing the arrow strike her and how easily she could have been killed. If the full force of the enemy were turned against them, she would fall. Above all she must be protected, but would sending her with the elves to the land across the sea be enough to keep her safe? Would they seek to use her and see her only as a weapon not as the girl she really is? Poppie had spent his life watching and learning, wisdom was its own reward but in this decision that seemed to be the most important of his life, he had no answers, no words to protect her and make it easier for her to leave this land and travel to a world unknown to them all. When his eyes finally caught Raeith's, she ran to him and throwing her arms around him she burst into tears.

The gathering around the campfire that night was somber. Everyone knew she was leaving, the children who normally sat near her now clung to her and even the stories were told in near whispers. Brendith and Boradon chose to spend the evening out beyond the river, close enough to come if there were a need but far enough to give the village privacy for their farewells.

Before the sun broke through the fog that covered the ground, Brendith, Boradon and Raeith stood near the village center. Everyone had risen early to see her off and the sleepy faces of the children were mostly streaked with tears. Raeith had cried herself out last night and into the early hours as Poppie held her. Now her puffy eyes took in her family one last time. Would she ever see them again and stopped that thought as soon as it crossed her mind, before the tears came back. Brendith removed an item that hung from his back, and approached Poppie, laying the item carefully in his hands. "This is the Horn of Xyren. It has been used by the king to call his guard to his side since before your land was form. If you have need of protection, you only need to blow it and the kings guard will come. I give it now to your care as you give me Raeith in my care. I will protect her with my life of this you have my vow."

Poppies red rimmed eyes looked into Brendith's as the horn was placed gently into his hands. The words he uttered were as much a surprise to him as to Brendith, "Protect her, she is not as strong as she seems." Poppie did not know if the words came from him or through him from the old lady at the glade but he knew them for the truth.

With a nod Brendith turned and headed past the river and toward home, Raeith took a final look at Poppie, tried to smile, and followed Brendith, Boradon stepped behind her and they walked that way past midday and well into evening. When they finally stopped Brendith knew Raeith was exhausted. Boradon made a quick camp without a fire and passed out biscuits that were carefully packed by Vaoni. Brendith took a pouch that contained wine and handed it to Raeith. She took a hard swallow and began to choke, when she was done red wine covered Brendith's clothes and she glared at him.

"What was that!" she demanded pushing the offending pouch at Brendith.

"Wine, some of the finest in my land and much too good to be used as a dye for my clothes." He grumbled as he got up and headed to the river presumably to wash his now spotted clothes.

Boradon sat and joined her, picked up the pouch and took a long draw. Handing it back he said, "Drink slow, it will help you sleep better tonight."

The wine was rich and fruity, like berries in late fall and once she had her first few sips she began to feel the tension of the day leave her shoulders. It was only a few sips later that she found herself actually enjoying Boradon's company. He was pleasant to talk to and funny. A few sips after that found her smiling and telling him about her first day in the village, how dog bounced around and the children made such noise, how it felt so over whelming, but also felt right. The time ticked away and the sun began its slow climb down, the wine pouch seemed lighter than before and so did her mood. When Brendith finally joined them again Raeith was laughing at something Boradon had said and he passed the pouch back to her for another sip. They both looked up as Brendith entered the clearing, but to Raeith's surprise there were two of them, no make that three. Wow three Brendith's, and they were all scowling at her. The wine was good, but she doubted there was enough wine in the whole pouch to make Brendith good company.

"She's drunk." Brendith accused Boradon. "I leave just long enough to clean up and you corrupt her."

"You gave her the wine," Boradon accused back. "I just helped her appreciate it."

Raeith looked from all three Brendith's to Boradon. There were a bunch of Boradons too, and they were all scowling at Brendith.

Brendith ignoring his friend pulled blankets from his pack and taking some of the leaves that littered the ground made an impromptu bed and covered it with the blanket. He turned toward Raeith who was watching him with a fascination that could only be from the wine and held a hand out to her, "Let's get you to bed, we will have an early start in the morning." Raeith reached for the hands being offered, but there were too many to decide, finally one hand grabbed hers and pulled her to her feet, walked her unsteadily to her makeshift bed then laid her down gently. The other blanket suddenly covered her and the sounds of the night creatures sung her to sleep.

They walked for days, eating on the way, and camps at night with no fire but after the first night no wine was offered which was fine with her, the next morning she had a headache unlike any she had before and her stomach rolled at the thought of food. Brendith and Boradon rotated watch each night, catching a few hours of sleep when they could and both were always on guard during the day.

"Lindon is the easiest and fastest way to Amman," Boradon told her one day, "but that way is surely watched. We do not know how much the enemy knows of your existence, but the longer we can keep you a secret, the better chance we can get you to Amman without a fight."

It had been just over two weeks of walking when Raeith noticed a change in the air. The breeze was warm and salty. It tickled the back of her throat but she liked it. She could also hear the steady lapping of waves in the distance; it was comforting in its rhythm. They stopped midday and made a camp, warning her to remain quiet Brendith left with the unspoken orders for Boradon to remain on guard. The tension in the little camp was thicker than the warm salty air and Boradon speaking in a whisper explained to Raeith they were close to the sea port and Brendith was verifying their ship was safe to board. That night with a sliver of the moon shining on the crashing waves Raeith left the world she knew to cross the sea to Amman.

The trip to Amman was miserable. As Raeith lay on the cot in her room the boat swayed forward and back, side to side, forward to side and side to back. Her feet would be up and her head down, then her head would be up and her feet down, the only thing that stayed the same was how her stomach felt and that was really really bad. It took years to cross the sea, Brandon said it was only a week but Raeith doubted it, it seemed much longer. She would have been ecstatic when land came into view, but leaving her cot to watch the horizon was simply more effort than she was willing to put forth. That evening Brendith came into her room, picked her gently off her cot and carried her to land. She could really learn to like Brendith.


	7. Chapter 6

Unlike the trip across the sea, Amman was lovely. The sun shone off the water casting light in every direction, ships at the dock were swarmed by birds of all types, calling to each other and diving into the water. There were venders and the smells of strange but wonderful foods filled the air. She was hungry! It had been years, ok… a week, since she had been able to hold down food; she had a lot of making up to do. Everywhere she looked there was activity, people moving and talking, chickens squawking, dogs barking, children with small pointed ears playing and the salty wind blowing gently. Brendith approached her as she sat cross legged in the flower strewn yard and studied her critically. They have been traveling hard for just over three weeks. He hated to push her so hard, but the enemy would be looking for the source of power and he did not want Raeith caught in a battle with only Boradon and himself to protect her. The traveling had taken its toll on her, two of those weeks were on foot, walking from sun up until it was too dark to see the path at night with only one short stop in the afternoon to rest. Raeith kept up the pace without complaint, at least she did not complain about walking but when he was late with the mid meal, she made some noise then. The smiled at the thought, that girl liked to eat. He looked closely at her as she sat enjoying the early morning sun and watching the activity of the port city. She was even thinner he noticed, how could anyone who ate like her look half starved, but she did. The voyage in the ship may have added to it, she did not handle ship travel gracefully. She had felt well enough to bathe this morning and put on a travel worn red shirt that had become dull and a bit dingy, some buckskin breaches with boots that laced up her lower leg. All of her clothes looked well used, and although fitting for village life, he would have to see about getting her something more appropriate for her life at (city name) the capital city of Amman. He had promised Poppie he would care for her and seeing to these simple needs would be just the beginning.

Raeith smiled at him as he approached, she did have a nice smile he thought, it was bright with no pretense. No, when Raeith smiled, it was because she was happy. He liked that about her. It was not true of his people, they could smile at you but you really did not know what they were thinking. His people had developed the talent for artifice, although not quite deception (usually) they rarely said what they were actually thinking or feeling, Raeith's whole hearted honesty was delightful. Funny how he never thought of her or her people that way, not until his own land and people was the backdrop did he notice how different she was and that it really was refreshing.

"I have things I must do today" he told her, "and will most likely not be back until nightfall. Rest, and recover your strength, tomorrow we can take a tour and I will show you around, then smiling he added, this is a port town and it has more foods then you can imagine, you can try it all if you like."

She watched him walk over to Boradon who was just exiting the house and spoke with him quietly. Boradon nodded at him then approached Raeith with a smile on his face. "I get to spend the whole day in the presence of such a beautiful lady," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "I will become spoiled in your company and will not want for anyone else's." He promised with his most sincere face. Raeith just laughed at him, she had come to know him to well to believe one word he said and knew he would be out winking and blowing kisses at any female who walked by. "What shall we do today" he asked her, "I could play my flute and we could dance till dawn," he suggested "or we could lay on the grass and watch the sun work its way across the sky and find animal shapes in the clouds?"

Raeith dropped back to sprawl in the grass and Boradon laid back to join her.

Brendith returned much later then he expected. He had much to do and decided after seeing how tired Raeith looked to send a message to his father, let him know about her, that she was safe in Amman, and they would return to Calen Tal ( green city)in a few weeks. He also went by the vendors and shops to find and purchase more suitable attire for Raeith. As he was leaving the last of the shops, the moonlit glow of pearl caught his eye. It was a hair comb and it was stunning, carved out of a single huge pearl it was a showpiece. That reminded him; he needed to get Raeith one of those too. Her hair was a mess. The shop held many types of combs and hair accessories like ribbons and such, but he just needed a simple comb to meet her needs. He picked up a sturdy one made of wood, this would do the job, it was a reasonable comb, useful, practical, the correct choice for Raeith. Then he thought about her bright smile that morning and how it had made him smile in return. He put the little wooden comb back on the table.

Raeith was up early and looking for something to do, she was too excited to sleep; they were going to "tour". Boradon said that meant they were going to walk around the city and look and everything. They would look in the shops and along the dock and see entertainers who often did strange and funny things just to make people laugh. Raeith couldn't wait, she was bathed, dressed and waiting when Brendith and Boradon finally came out of their rooms and for once, she didn't even want to wait for breakfast.

"Raeith ready to tour" she said excitedly to them both, a huge grin firmly in place.

"Just a minute or two," Brendith answered. He headed to the table where there was a package wrapped in paper. "Try this on," he said handing the package to Raeith. Shredded paper went everywhere as she enthusiastically dug for the contents. There was a shirt in soft blue, but it was really long and a strap of cloth in the same color was wrapped up with it. "It's a dress," Brendith told her, "go try it on." Raeith flashed a quick grin at him as she raced back to her room. She came out a minute later wearing the dress; below the hem he could see the bottom of her breaches and the toe of her boots. She practically danced out and spun around for them both to see. "So pretty," she said while she moved her hands down the soft material. Brendith was about to tell her not to wear breaches with a dress but looking into her happy eyes he decided it could wait.

"Oh, and here," Brendith said looking sheepish and handing a small package to Raeith, "you needed this too."

Raeith opened the small package and her smile fell. It was so beautiful. A comb sat in her hands, its white illuminated glow hosted flecks of blue, green and pink. Her big hazel eyes met Brendith's in wonder. "You needed a comb", he said gruffly and turned away. Boradon's eyebrows shot up and he looked at his friend questioningly.

Brendith joined her and Boradon in the small flower covered yard, and grinned at her. "Ready?" he asked. At her answering smile he led her to the docks, they watched the ships of various sizes and colors come and go. They toured the streets of venders showing her the wares and buying her lots of food items to try. She had sugared petals that was actually parts of a flower that when cooked were crisp and sweet, some meat on a wood stick that was salty, something kind of mushy and brown that did not look very appetizing, but was absolutely delicious, and so many other morsels that she was to full to try the oysters or the many types of smoked fish, but tomorrow was another day and she was sure she would be hungry enough to enjoy it then. He led her to an area teeming with people and worked their way through the crowd to watch someone in strange clothes tossing several things in the air, catching them and tossing them back in the air. Raeith watched mesmerized. There was also someone who appeared to be behind a wall no one could see, but when Raeith reached out to touch the wall, it was not there. She did not understand that man at all.

That evening as the threesome returned home Brendith informed Raeith and Boradon they would be traveling for Calen Tal the next day. It will take a few days to get there by horseback if they pushed hard, but he planned to take the trip slowly, allowing time to show Raeith the sights along the way.

Raeith turned a wary look at Brendith, "What is horseback?

Brendith turned a surprised look at Raeith. "We will be riding horses," he said, stating the obvious.

"What is a horse?"

"It's a large animal we will sit on, he will take us to Calen Tal without us having to walk the whole way," informed Boradon. "Don't worry, it will be fun," he added.

But Raeith did worry, she had seen the orcs ride the big animals and spent the night dreaming of sitting on those large beasts while they snarled and kept trying to bite her legs.

"Raeith will walk." she proclaimed the next morning. "Not sit on beast."

Boradon looked at Raeith while she stood there holding her pack with her meager belongings and read fear in her eyes. "Come and see the horse Brendith has chosen for you, then you can decide," he suggested. She gave him an uncertain nod, and followed him out to the stables where Brendith waited.

The beasts were held by Brendith with a rope attached to each one. They had seats on their backs and they were big, but they did not snarl at her so she approached carefully. Boradon reached past her and took one of the ropes, a small brown beast followed the rope and moved toward her, she took a step back wide eyes moving to Boradon. The beast looked at Raeith with huge soft brown eyes then lifted her nose to sniff at Raeith. The beast took a step closer then snuffled in her hair near Raeith's ear tickling her and causing her to giggle. Raeith reached out to push the nose away but instead of pushing, ran her hand along the velvety nose. White ran from between the beast large eyes and stopped just above her nose with a white spot on her lower lip. She was rather pretty for a beast. Slowly Raeith moved closer and ran her hand down the smooth long neck and her fingers tangled in the hair that fell along her neck. The beast seemed to enjoy the attention.

"This is Belhea," Brendith said. "She is very gentle and will take you safely to Calen Tal".

Boradon stepped forward, took the pack Raeith still held in her hand and fastened it behind the seat on Belhea. Next he came to stand beside Raeith and told her to put her foot in a strap attached to the seat. "The other foot," he said and smiled at her. He could feel her heart beating fast giving away just how nervous she really was. Boradon put his hands on either side of Raeith's waste and lifted her easily into the saddle. Raeith sat stiff and unmoving.

"Breath" Boradon suggested with a smile. "Belhea will follow our horses without direction, you just need to hold on and relax."

Breathing helped with the relaxing part and Raeith just sat on Belhea while Boradon and Brendith mounted their own beast. Boradon sat on a gray animal who was even bigger then Belhea, while Brendith sat on a dark brown beast, that beast had white on its face and some white on its back leg, but it was so dark Raeith could not see if it's eyes were soft and sweet like Belhea's.

Brendith's horse moved forward and Belhea followed. Sitting on a beast was not too bad, until it moved. Raeith grabbed hold of the horses long hair on her neck while tightening her legs, her whole body stiff, in response, Belhea's head few up in surprise almost hitting Raeith in the nose with her neck. Belhea stopped her whole body tense not understanding why her rider clamped down on her.

"Easy girl," said Boradon, and both Raeith and Belhea looked at him. Boradon rode up to Belhea and stroked her neck then took the rope hung over Raeith's seat and began to walk his horse forward, Belhea relaxed and followed. Raeith stayed clamped down. Forward and back, side to side, this was a lot like the trip on the boat; Raeith was prepared for a long and miserable day. Slowly she began to catch the rhythm of her beast footfalls and began to anticipate the movement allowing her hips to relax and her body to follow the sway. As the day wore on Raeith began to enjoy the movement of the horse and also started to watch the surrounding countryside as it passed. Farms with small white animals covered the landscape with trees spread out for shade. But it was not hot here, it also was not cold, it just was.

When they stopped by a small gurgling stream, Boradon dismounted and walked to Belhea. Raeith looked down and wondered how she was going to get on the ground. Boradon gave her an easy smile and lifted his hands to her waste, lifted and placed her firmly on the ground. The relief Raeith felt when the ground met her feet was short lived, her knees buckled immediately. Boradon tightened his hold on her and waited until she found her 'land legs'.

When Raeith finally stepped away from Boradon she discovered another unpleasant surprise. She hurt, and she hurt in places she was not going to tell Brendith or Boradon about.

Brendith watched Raeith as she was dismounted, she had ridden for hours without complaint but he could see she was sore now. Even taking the ride at such an easy pace had taken its toll on Raeith. He smiled at her when he finally caught her eye and pointed to the stream. "The water should be nice this time of year, and there should be a pool that is deep enough to swim in in you like. Enjoy yourself while we will get camp set, I will call you in for dinner." He smiled again at her as she headed toward the stream, the water should help her discomfort.

Over the next week Raeith saw much of Amman, it was not at all as Raeith expected. When they would stop at a village, Boradon called them cities, nobody came to see them; no one brought ale or asked the news. There was no fire at night where stories were told, they were just pointed toward a hut, Boradon called them houses, and spent the night while the horses stayed at stables where there were many other beasts like them. Some nights the three of them just camped by a stream and Raeith like that best. There were no noises of people or strange dogs, just the three of them talking around a fire until night finally clamed them in sleep.

The final night of their journey found them by such a stream, dinner had been cooked and eaten, the blankets laid out for sleeping but the three of them just sat around the fire in companionable silence.

Finally Brendith announced, "We should be in Calen Tal by mid-meal tomorrow." The relaxation Raeith felt turned to tension as she looked toward the speaker. "I am sure you are ready to get this journey over with," he added, "and I know there are many who look forward to meeting you."


	8. Chapter 7

The sun seemed to shine its most golden rays on Calen Tal. They crossed a white stone bridge with ivy covering its sides and hanging toward the water. The ivy was covered in light purple flowers that had a sweet inviting smell. The grass around the river was higher than she was tall and grew in clumps with white wispy tops that moved in the gentle breeze. Birds called from everywhere and a blue one with white markings streaked under the bridge and out the other side to land in a nearby tree. There was a large gate with intricate metal work that created the image of a magnificent tree, it started as green on the bottom, gradually changed to blue and finally gold topped its high arches. The gate split at the trunk of the tree and the canopy of branches separated to allow the trio to enter. On either side of the gate stood a guard who wore matching white uniforms with gold buttons and braids. There slightly pointed ears peeked out between the braids in their hair and a matching gold band held the braids neatly in place. This city was unlike the others Raeith had visited, as they passed everyone seemed to look there way. Many stopped what they were doing to come greet Brendith and Boradon, they looked curiously at her. Most of the men she noticed talked to Brendith and spoke quietly and with a tone of respect. The women seemed to be drawn more to Boradon and there 'welcome back' seemed to be quite heartfelt. Raeith watched from Belhea's back while they slowly worked their way through the city, they followed a winding road that had houses on both sides. There were several smaller bridges they had to cross because the river wound its way leisurely through the city. Finally they stopped in front of a very large house, both Brendith and Boradon dismounted. Raeith watched their attention turn to a tall man descending the stair, his long dark hair blowing around his thin face. His welcoming smile was warm as he greeted Brendith and Boradon. When his eyes finally turned to her she was in the process of dismounting. She had gotten comfortable riding Belhea, and yesterday had managed to both mount and dismount by herself. She managed to make it to the ground, but it was not graceful. The man walked toward her, his smile was equal parts amusement and welcome. "Welcome Raeith of the Woods to the Land of Amman and the House of Cirdan, we have been expecting you." His blue eyes twinkled at Raeith as he continued. "I am Terian, chief advisor to Cirdan; he has asked me to show you to your rooms for a rest, and looks forward to meeting you on the morrow."

A young boy ran up and took the rope attached to Belhea, and the other two horses as Terian reached out to take her elbow. "This way," he said as he began to lead her up the wide steps toward the house, she looked at Brendith and at his nod followed the guiding hand of Terian.

Inside the house was even bigger than the outside and there were people walking on floors above the ground. Her huge eyes followed the path that followed the room above their head and was amazed when Terian leads her to a set of stair that took her to this floor. She looked over the short wall and could see down to the room she just left, the doors she came through opened and Brendith and Boradon entered the room. She grinned at them from her high vantage point, but they did not look her way. "This way," Terian urged, "you must be tired, I will have your meal brought to your room and a bath prepared."

Her room did not have a cot, it had a bed. A bed is different than a cot she realized because when you lay down in a bed, it was very soft and created a hole where she lay that seemed to hold her snuggly. The bed was also covered in cloth, some of it was shiny, some had many colors, all of it was very soft and warm and inviting. There was a chair too, it had cloth on it and when she sat, it sunk down and was so comfortable even her saddle sore parts were happy. Next to the chair was a table and on the table was tray of food that had covers over it much like the iron ones made by Glem's father, but caught the light from the candles. She could almost see her face looking back at her from the metal and decided that face looked as hungry as she felt. Before Raeith could uncover the tray of food and start eating, a knock sounded at the door. She got up and opened the door but had to stand back as boys started walking in her room and through the door beyond. Each carried two buckets of water that sloshed and threatened to escape, Raeith followed the last boy and watched as he poured his two buckets of steaming water into a large tub then followed the other boys out of the room, closing the door behind him. Raeith looked at the bath and the steam curling from it, then she looked at her untouched food, finally she walked over grabbed the tray of food and headed for the bath.

Raeith woke up at the click of her bedroom door. It was full morning and from the time she put her head on the pillows until now she slept without moving. "Good morning," said a quiet voice at Raeith's back, Raeith struggled to turn over in the deep hole her bed made for her and saw a girl about her own age standing by the door with a tray in her hands, there were very nice smells coming from the tray. "I've brought you breakfast and will help you dress to meet the king," she stated. Raeith left her bed and looked around her room for her pack; she had left it on Belhea when her horse had been lead away. The young girl followed Raeith's gaze around the room and frowned, "what are you looking for," she asked.

"Clothes," Raeith replied, "on Belhea," she continued.

"Oh, I will have clothes sent up," she replied smiling. "I am Faelyn," she said looking expectantly at Raeith. Raeith just stared back. "What is your name," Faelyn asked?

"Raeith."

Faelyn smiled at the shy girl and set her breakfast on the small table by the chair. "I will make sure your things are brought up later," she added.

There was a knock at the door that Faelyn answered and stepped back as a troop of women came into the room carrying clothes and shoes. They laid the items on the unmade bed and without glancing at Raeith, they left. Faelyn smiled broadly, "the clothes are here," she said gleefully and clapped her hands while walking to the mound of colorful clothes. She held up a yellow dress with a white belt then ordered Raeith "come here." Raeith walked over and stood very still while Faelyn held clothes up to her and stood at arm's length to judge if it was acceptable. Faelyn worked through the pile of clothes quickly, tisking and putting some in one pile and smiling while putting some clothes in a different pile. "This one will do nicely," she finally stated while holding up a dress the color of spring grass. It had gold threads that formed an ivy that worked its way from collar to hem. Raeith was shocked as Faelyn began to remove Raeith's sleeping shirt, but did not step back when Faelyn told her to be still. In just moments the green dress was draped over Raeith and buttoned up the back. It fit snuggly to her waste then flared out toward the bottom. The material whispered as Raeith walked and she spun around a few times just to hear the material and watch how it moved around her.

"Raeith like," she said while grinning at Faelyn.

Faelyn grinned back and began looking through the next pile for matching shoes.

When Raeith was dressed to Faelyn's expectations, she sat Raeith down, pushed aside a small door in the wall and revealed Raeith, well not Raeith exactly, but it really looked like her. Raeith jumped back with a start and looked at herself looking back. Her eyes were huge and her bronze skin shown with pink cheeks. The green dress makes her huge eyes sparkle and pop with color. Then Raeith noticed Faelyn was there too, just beside her and she was looking back at Raeith too. Both Faelyns laughed, "It's just a mirror," she explained. "It lets you see yourself, but it is just a picture of yourself." Raeith reached out to touch her own face reflecting back at her. It was cold and hard. She pulled her hand back and watched herself wearily in the mirror. Faelyn sat Raeith back down in front of the mirror and chuckled occasionally as she watched Raeith glare at herself in distrust. Faelyn brushed out Raeith's long brown hair until it shown with golden highlights, finally Raeith asked, "Where is Boradon?" Faelyn smiled at the Raeith in the mirror, but it was a little sad, Boradon caught the eye of every female in Amman, and it appears Raeith was no exception. She placed two small braids down both sides of her face, and tied those braids back with golden thread that matched the ivy on her dress, then stood back and smiled at her, "I believe you are ready to meet our king." Raeith lost her appetite.

She followed Faelyn down the stairs to the main room where Brendith and Boradon waited. Faelyn watched Raeith cast them both a grin and walk up to stand at Boradon's side. He placed a hand gently around her waist and bent down to say something quietly to her. Raeith shook her head yes and followed the men out the main door.

The walk from the house to where she would meet the king only took a few minutes. Raeith walked between Brendith and Boradon and felt very small. Both men were dressed differently than she was used to. Brendith wore a shiny black robe and she could see black pants and a black shirt beneath it. The robe had ivy decoration much like her dress, but they were silver. The Ivy wound it's say around his collar and at the end of his sleeves. His boots also had silver interlacing the black. His sword hung between him and Raeith, its hilt peeking out the front of his robe. Brendith walked on the other side of Raeith. He wore dark green like the trees in fall. These clothes also had silver threads, but they did not make a pattern. Boradon did not carry any weapons that Raeith could see.

There were many people in the room she was led to, they talked quietly amongst themselves, most of them occupied the space along the walls, a few drifted through the main room. There was a steady hum of noise when they entered but silence followed the booming voice that stated "Prince Brendith, Lord Boradon and Raeith of the Woods". All eyes turned to them, silence permeated the air. Raeith looked at Brendith, her eyes narrowed on him, "Prince?" she asked. He just looked at her and shrugged. They walked up to the dais several eyes followed them. In the center of the group stood an older man, he had shoulder length gray hair and light blue eyes. He smiled at them as they approached. Raeith stopped before him with Brendith and Boradon. Both of them bowed before the gray haired man, Raeith looked at them in confusion then back at the old man. "Father, may I present Raeith of the Woods," Brendith said when he straightened. He placed a hand at the small of Raeith's back to push her forward a step, but Raeith held her ground, she was close enough.

"Welcome Raeith of the Woods, I have looked forward to meeting you. Here, come sit with me." he gestured to the others on the dais to leave and they quickly disappeared. Raeith followed him toward the back of the dais where there were chairs informally situated. He took a seat in one and indicated Raeith should take the one opposite him. Brendith and Boradon followed and stood between the king and his subjects. Their hands behind there back, they appeared to be on guard, their stance adding to the tension between her shoulders. "I do want to welcome you to Amman. When I sent the boys out to find a weapon, I had no idea it would turn out to be you. I must admit, you do not look very dangerous, but that would not stop others from taking you anyway they could and doing whatever was needed to force you to fight for them. It is much better you are here amongst my people where you can be safe. While here we will need to discuss your abilities, but I do insist you do not use those abilities unless asked." he have her a severe look at that order. "You do understand this restriction, don't you Raeith?" She nodded her head yes and he continued. "Very well, take the day to look around, walk in the gardens and do as you will, tomorrow I will have Terian take you to Anagar, he will evaluate your powers and help us decide what to do with you." Raeith's eyes widened at those words, she did not want to show anyone what her hands could do. She did not want to show Anagar or the king, she did not want to show Brendith or Boradon. What would they do if she refused?

Boradon reached down and touched her arm, she had been dismissed by the king and it was time to leave. "Raeith, I have one last thing for you," the king said. I understand how hard it is for you to leave your family I thought as a token of mutual trust you should have this," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold chain, as he placed it in her hands he explained, "This chain has a magical property that can return you home, all you need to do is..." she was already gone. The old king looked at where Raeith had been and a smile crossed his face. Brendith looked annoyed. "I have one for you as well," the king told his son. "Keep her safe then return her in a day or two. When you wish to return, just think on this place and you will be here." Brendith took the other chain offered by his father, it was Boradon's turn to sigh, he had a date tonight, then they to disappear.

Brendith and Boradon were near the river just south of the village, Raeith was nowhere to be seen, but the commotion coming from the village made it plain she was being greeted like someone who had been lost for years not just the month they had been gone. They walked up the path to greet the villagers and keep an eye on Raeith.

The two days passed quickly, Raeith stayed close to Poppie, the whole village seemed to be in high spirits. Even Brendith and Boradon received smiles and were invited to enjoy the evening fire. Boradon played happy tunes and taught a few of the women a fast paced dance. Brendith or Boradon hunted and brought back deer each day, and the fresh meat was cooked and served as the village enjoyed a time of plenty. When Brendith, Boradon and Raeith prepared to leave, it was with a very happy heart, she knew she could return to see Poppie and her family at any time.


End file.
